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Metal Cluster Models for Heterogeneous Catalysis: A Matrix‐Isolation Perspective
Author(s) -
Hübner Olaf,
Himmel HansJörg
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201706097
Subject(s) - reactivity (psychology) , cluster (spacecraft) , excited state , matrix (chemical analysis) , electronic structure , matrix isolation , chemistry , ground state , chemical physics , catalysis , substrate (aquarium) , nanotechnology , computational chemistry , materials science , computer science , molecule , physics , atomic physics , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , oceanography , pathology , chromatography , programming language , geology
Metal cluster models are of high relevance for establishing new mechanistic concepts for heterogeneous catalysis. The high reactivity and particular selectivity of metal clusters is caused by the wealth of low‐lying electronically excited states that are often thermally populated. Thereby the metal clusters are flexible with regard to their electronic structure and can adjust their states to be appropriate for the reaction with a particular substrate. The matrix isolation technique is ideally suited for studying excited state reactivity. The low matrix temperatures (generally 4–40 K) of the noble gas matrix host guarantee that all clusters are in their electronic ground‐state (with only a very few exceptions). Electronically excited states can then be selectively populated and their reactivity probed. Unfortunately, a systematic research in this direction has not been made up to date. The purpose of this review is to provide the grounds for a directed approach to understand cluster reactivity through matrix‐isolation studies combined with quantum chemical calculations.